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The “what if” theory…
During iSaloni in Milan in 2002, Fredrik Mattson, who was then a
young design student, received a product brief, a brief that many
designers get, but very few succeed with. It read: - We want “a
completely ordinary chair made in a completely new way”. After
a couple of tries, Fredrik finally said that he and a fellow student,
Stefan Borselius, had drawn an aluminium chair they wanted me to
see. My very first reaction was that we didn’t want an aluminium
chair. But Fredrik said I couldn’t say no until I saw it, which caught
my interest and raised my expectations.
A month later and ONE PowerPoint slide into a long presentation,
the decision was simple - “We must do this!” Convinced, confident
and with the world’s innovation at hand, we went to the industry
expecting a standing ovation. The experts, technicians, and
engineers on site, all of whom knew their material and process,
kindly but firmly informed us that our chair was not possible to
produce. It could have ended there and then, but since we were still
visiting, we were given a tour of the factory and before we left that
day, I laid out my proven “what if” theory and said - “But... “IF” it
could be manufactured, how would we do it then? What would the
obstacles be?” That question sparked new interest. Five long months
later and after the chair had been discontinued due to four failed
attempts, we presented the chair Sting at SFF 2003, a true innovation.
The whole long, exciting story is available to read online.
